NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2019 AWARDS WILL OPEN FEB. 4. DEADLINE IS MAY 24, 2019.

Nomination Process

Canada's Safest Employers recognizes Canadian companies that are making a difference in promoting the health and safety of their workers. If you are operating a safe and successful organization in Canada, we would like to hear from you.

Eligibility

TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR CANADA'S SAFEST EMPLOYERS AWARD, NOMINATING EMPLOYERS MUST MEET ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Have been an employer in Canada for the last five years or more.

Have at least 20 employees.

Be willing to administer an employee perception survey provided by the Canada’s Safest Employers organizing committee to your workforce.

Must not have been charged under occupational health and safety, workers' compensation and/or the Criminal Code legislation in the last five years.

Must not have been convicted under the occupational health and safety, workers' compensation and/or the Criminal Code legislation in the last five years.

Screening Process

Complete nomination form that corresponds to the award you are interested in.

The final nomination form for Canada's Safest Employers awards 2019 — which you must fill in on this website — will be available in February. You can preview the form here, although note there may be some minor changes to the final version. The same logic applies to the special awards listed below.

Gold and silver awards are also available for four special awards. Click on each award to preview the nomination form.

CANADA'S BEST HEALTH + SAFETY CULTURE (top award)

Canadian Occupational Safety, in partnership with Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, is pleased to offer Canada’s Best Health + Safety Culture award, the top prize within the lineup of Canada's Safest Employers awards.

This award, sponsored by Levitt Safety, will go to the organization with the strongest health and safety culture in the country — a culture that not only permeates the workplace, but extends into the employer’s community, networks and areas of influence to make health and safety a priority for all.

There are three steps in applying for this award.

Step 1: Complete the nomination form, which will be available in February but can be previewed here.

Step 2: Deploy the employee perception survey to your workforce through the month of June.

You will receive a link to the survey the first week of June that you need to pass along to all your employees. If you have between 20 and 5,000 employees, you will need at least 20 per cent of your employee population to complete the survey to move on to the next phase of the competition. If you have between 5,001 and 10,000 employees, you need 10 per cent of them to complete the survey. And companies with more than 10,000 workers need five per cent.

This is a mandatory requirement. You will be given instructions on how to monitor the number of employees that have filled out the survey. The survey includes about 40 questions and takes about six minutes to complete.

Please note the results of your survey are available for purchase. If you have less than 500 employees, the cost to purchase the survey results is $1,000. If you have more than 500 employees, the cost is $2,500. Please note this is not the number of employees who have completed the survey, rather your total employee count.

Step 3: One-day on-site observation for the three finalists only to be completed during the first two weeks of August.

Experienced OHS evaluators from Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS) will visit the workplaces of the finalists to conduct on-site observations and complete an on-site verification audit template. This will take one day to complete. As many companies have more than one location, the evaluation will take place at the company's head office. A representative from one field facility will need to be available at the head office for the on-site visit. The on-site evaluation will include the following:

•Select staff focus group using organizational performance metric questions for workers and managers.

•Site tour and conformance checklist

•C-suite level interview.

All information obtained during the audit will be kept strictly confidential and will only be shared with the Canada's Safest Employers organizing committee for the purposes of selecting the final winner.

The finalists will receive a report that assesses health and safety practices using a recognized management systems criteria and an evidence-based research approach that captures worker, manager and senior leader perceptions towards their health and safety culture.

The winner will be revealed at the gala in October in Toronto. Exact 2019 date TBD.

*Please note Canada's Best Health + Safety Culture award is intended to recognize an entire organization with an excellent culture, not individual branches, plants or franchises. However, all other awards (industry-specific safety awards, wellness, psychological safety and young worker safety) can be awarded to franchises/branches/plants etc.

Canada's Safest Employers recognizes Canadian companies that are making a difference in promoting the health and safety of their workers. If you are operating a safe and successful organization in Canada, we would like to hear from you.